Monday, March 7, 2016

Prayer Guide - International Women's Day

As we gather to celebrate International Women’s Day, we unite with our sisters (and brothers) throughout the world, remembering that “the care we have for one another leads us to engage with the pain and suffering of all people and creation” (USG/UISG). 
Let us begin by acknowledging those who surround us.

Hymn
The Woman Next To You

Look around you Sisters, look around.
Who is the woman sitting next to you?
The woman next to you is an inexhaustible reservoir of possibilities…

The woman next to you can live with you, not just be by your side…
She can live, not just for herself but for you too…
She can comfort you, find you, understand you if that’s what you want…
And in turn, she must be understood too.

The woman next to you… cannot be fully understood
She is more than any description or explanation…
She can never be totally controlled nor should she be.
The woman at your side is a mystery…
And the Word made flesh is a MYSTERY

The Word was made flesh and dwelled among us…
And so my sisters (and brothers) look around you…
Because CHRIST IS HERE, HE DIED AND ROSE AGAIN. 


Scripture Passage:
Luke 13: 10-17 – The Healing of the Crippled Women

Reflection: Take some time to share your thoughts to these reflection questions with the group
-      What obstacles exist today in people’s lives, especially women’s lives? 
-      What are some of my personal experiences in which I was “set free” or “made straight” by God, or in which I was witness to the liberation experienced by another? 
-      Can we see in this action of Jesus an opportunity for grace, to approach our own encounters with others with compassion and mercy?   

Song: Choose an appropriate song that the groups knows

Prayer*
Women are the reflection of the glory of God.  Today we honor the women of all times and places: women of courage, women of hope, women who suffer, women who mourn, women who live well, women who experience joy, women who are leading the work to transform unjust structures, women who seek wisdom, women who share wisdom; women who love and are loved. 
Women: Givers of Life!  Women: Image of God!
Today we commit ourselves to promote the human dignity of women everywhere, knowing that whatever denies, diminishes, or distorts the human dignity of women is not of God. 

God help us to be faithful to your call to love.  Amen

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